Office address: 50 Hudson Yards New York, NY 10001
Website: www.blackrock.com
Year established: 1988
Company type: investment company
Employees: 19,800+
Expertise: asset management, risk management, ETFs (iShares), fixed income, alternative investments, wealth management, retirement solutions, private equity, infrastructure, real estate, sustainable investing, financial technology
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Larry Fink (CEO), Rob Kapito (president), Joud Abdel Majeid (global head), Stephen Cohen (CPO), Ed Fishwick (CRO), Rob Goldstein (COO), Martin Small (CFO), Chris Meade (CLO)
Financing status: N/A
BlackRock is a global investment company from New York, offering asset management, advisory, and risk management services. The firm manages $11.5 trillion in assets as of October 2024 and operates in over 38 countries. With over 19,800 employees, the company serves clients in more than 100 countries, helping them achieve long-term financial well-being through innovative financial solutions.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Laurence Fink and seven partners, driven by a desire to manage assets with a focus on risk management and client interests. The company quickly grew, and in 1999, it launched Aladdin, its proprietary technology that transformed the risk management industry. During the 2008 financial crisis, the company was tapped by the Federal Reserve to assess Bear Stearns' assets, playing a crucial advisory role.
In 2009, it acquired Barclays Global Investors, becoming the world's largest asset manager and integrating both active and index strategies. In 2017, the company deepened its focus on investment stewardship, emphasizing the long-term value of purpose in profitability. By 2024, it partnered with Vestmark to boost model portfolios, further expanding its offerings for registered investment advisors.
BlackRock offers a wide range of investment products and services designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Below are the some of their key offerings:
BlackRock’s global team provides insights on markets, economies, and long-term strategies, helping clients navigate the complexities of investing. Whether it is a professional or a new investor, their services aim to support financial success while also empowering employees and giving back to communities.
BlackRock’s culture is built on a commitment to its clients, employees, and core principles. The company focuses on employee growth, offering benefits that support physical, emotional, and financial well-being. The firm provides various resources and benefits to keep employees engaged and balanced, some of which include:
The firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is central to its success, fostering an environment where employees feel a sense of belonging. The company’s global platform thrives by incorporating diverse perspectives to deliver the best outcomes for clients. By embracing unique skills and experiences, they empower employees to collaborate effectively and contribute to a shared mission:
The company’s social impact focuses on making financial prosperity accessible to more people and communities. The BlackRock Foundation supports low- to moderate-income households by helping them save, invest, and build wealth. Initiatives include:
BlackRock’s approach to corporate sustainability focuses on long-term value for shareholders, employees, communities, and clients. The company is committed to transparency, providing stakeholders with meaningful sustainability-related information.
Laurence Fink is company’s chairman, CEO, and founder, also serving on the boards of NYU and the World Economic Forum. Before founding BlackRock in 1988, he was a managing director at The First Boston Corporation. Fink earned a BA in political science and an MBA in real estate from UCLA.
The company’s key leadership team includes notable figures who lead the firm’s operations across global markets:
To prepare for potential market volatility, BlackRock advises financial professionals to reduce risk and shift toward safer investment options. With uncertainty ahead, particularly due to macroeconomic concerns and the upcoming elections, the firm highlights the importance of defensive strategies like the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC). This strategic adjustment also reflects their broader move toward active management, signaling its belief in a more hands-on approach during turbulent times.
The company recently reached an $11.5 trillion milestone in assets under management by the third quarter of 2024. This growth was driven by strong client inflows, notably into ETFs, fixed income, and private assets. BlackRock is accelerating its push into private assets, following acquisitions like Global Infrastructure Partners, and continues to lead in both public and private markets.
Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., the mutual-fund manager based in the heart of Kansas that caters to mom and pop investors, is an unlikely company to be blamed for sending Wall Street into a tailspin on May 6.
Broker-dealer firms aren't providing financial advisers with the technology and resources that they need to manage risk in their portfolios, according to Robert S. Kapito, president of BlackRock Inc.
Asset inflows improved for many of the largest publicly traded money managers in the third quarter, but analysts said that institutional investors continued to hold off on new mandates
In a comment letter sent today to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Investment Company Institute said the agency's proposal to cap 12(b)-1 fees puts the SEC in 'the inappropriate role of a rate maker.'
From Treasuries to bunds, and corporate bonds to mortgage securities, the world's fixed-income market is poised for its best year since 2002 as slow growth, tame inflation and record low interest rates create an almost perfect environment for debt investors.
Ohio has become the latest state to add exchange-traded funds to its Section 529 college savings plan. The state today launched its new adviser-sold 529 plan with BlackRock Inc.
Defined-contribution managers bounced back a bit by year-end 2009 from the morose markets of 2008 as assets under management rose 19.7%
A shift in focus to core offerings — triggered by investor uncertainty over the direction of the markets — is crimping the growth of sector ETFs
BlackRock Inc., the world's biggest manager of exchange-traded funds, named Russ Koesterich to the new position of global chief investment strategist for its iShares unit.
The SEC is examining the burgeoning business of financial advisers' selling model portfolios of exchange-traded funds.
'Buy' recommendations for stocks at the lowest level since 1997; 'don't want to stick their necks out'
Jeffrey Gundlach hasn't lost his investment magic — or his famous ego — while running DoubleLine Capital LP, the money manager he formed after his highly publicized firing from TCW Group last December
New accounting standards proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board would give index funds a substantial advantage over actively managed funds, observers contend
U.S. One Inc. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to offer exchange-traded funds that invest in individual U.S. and foreign-listed securities.
ETF providers are lobbying for tighter restrictions on market orders as regulators consider additional rules to avert another “flash crash.”
